


The Saddle Club: Life by life's terms

by NorthToPolaris



Category: Saddle club - Fandom, The Saddle Club
Genre: Adventure, Coming of Age, F/M, Friendship, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:49:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthToPolaris/pseuds/NorthToPolaris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A slice of life tale at Pine Hollow that shows the ups and downs of Veronica Di'angelo as she goes through the highs and lows of day to day living. A Life by Life's terms story of Love, grief, friendship and rebirth. This chapter focuses mainly on past events through Veronica's eyes but I've added a new spin on what happens after these events.</p>
<p>This is Primarily a prologue/Chapter one</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Saddle Club: Life by life's terms

**Author's Note:**

> I refuse to acknowledge any of the new season after the first two, so what else is left to do but write a fanfiction? I have always liked Veronica despite what type of person she is, or rather the mask she wears around everyone. I personally believe the writers wanted to give Veronica stepping stones to progress her character, but ultimately it was taken away for whatever reason. Therefore Veronica went back to the same old person she had been from the start, forever fashioning her as the Saddle clubs primary antagonist. Regardless of that the show's writers did manage to create a vague pool of depth residing in her. She wasn't only an entitled, pampered spoiled brat. 
> 
> I truly believe that out of everyone else in the show had the strongest character development despite the fact the writers reverted her back to her old ways. For those who have seen the show you'll understand (know) what i'm talking about. I personally doubt Veronica would become close friends with Stevie, Carol Or Lisa, despite Veronica having a fondness for Lisa. However she did come to understand them, and even respect them more than before, but their personalities rub wrong. 
> 
> Another thing I should warn everyone is that this is also a slight re-imagining, instead of the girls being in their early tweens they're going to be mid to late teens, each being either 16 to 17 years old, and perhaps even 18. Note that I have not altered their ages for the purpose of sex, or heavy petting, tongue to tongue make out sequences. This story entails no sex, vulgar make-out scenes or bad language. Its not only about romance, but friendship and how life can change on dime and what it takes to rebuild ones self during such changes. I feel more comfortable making them older for that reason. It's not to say that young teenagers or children don't experience these types of emotionally charged experiences, but for me i'd rather them be older.
> 
> Disclaimer: The Saddle club name, characters and scenes belong to Bonnie Bryant (The Author of the books) and Sarah Dodd (The creator of the TV series) All original characters are my own.

**Prologue**

 

 

Veronica always gave Kristi the best advice she could when it came to relationships. She'd been a methodical thinker from day one, stringing together ideas in minuets, and those talents were put to use by trying to help set up Kristi with Red, a stable hand at Pine Hollow, who Kristi had a crush on. Building a plan from scratch was easy, seeing it through to the end was different. To Veronica, Kristi's feelings were totally absurd. The families they came from had longstanding bloodlines dating back all the way to the 1700's, and that Red was a nobody compared to her. but she had tried to accept them nonetheless and still lent a hand to help, even if Kristi didn’t ask for it. After her plan's to 'help' were more likely to backfire rather than to succeed Veronica temporarily threw in the towel, and Kristi's infatuation for Red, became just that, a mindless infatuation which would more than likely die out when another boy road in from nowhere. If he was an attractive young man Kristi jumped the ship faster than anyone she'd ever met. It wasn't the first time she’d done it either. Chris, Murry and James, when they came along Kristi had forgotten Red existed at all.  
  
Be that as it may, when the flames she kindled for the other boys died out, it was back to the brass tracks because good’ol Red was right where he had been dropped. It had been the most bootless errand she had ever been on. To watch Kristi, a posh, well bred girl turn into a love struck imbecile stung worse than a blistering sunburn. It literally hurt to watch! Veronica got sick of feeling the burn from secondhand embarrassment that she eventually tried to sway Kristi's view on Red. Explaining to her that a lower class, welfare citizen didn't deserve her time and would have been better off with someone who was more his speed. Red had been a stable hand at Pine Hollow for as long as she could remember, and would more than likely always be one at the rate he was going. Veronica considered herself well versed in reality (at least the most basic ones) If stripping him down to those standards failed, Veronica had a mean left hook, and struck the low blow when the chance provided itself. Veronica made it clear that if he hadn't fallen for her by now it wasn't going to happen at all. But Kristi told Veronica otherwise. Her friend only had eye's for Red and did everything in her god given power to make him like her back, no matter how many times it turned into an utter disaster.

She used to think that if the roles were reversed Kristi would have never stood for such behavior if it were Veronica (Of course Veronica would never stoop to the level of pining for anyone for a long period of time) Nonetheless, Kristi wouldn't allow it, at least thats how she used to think. She could always think of a time where Kristi put Red before her. The overnight trail ride three years ago was a memory that fixed itself in her head often. When Kristi found out Red wasn’t going with them she dropped Veronica, giving no second thought to her feelings, and if she had it was a very limited one. Kristi abandoned her to the likes of being out in the woods, camp songs and sleeping in tents with no heating or air conditioning, and worst of all the likes the Saddle club. A plethora of instances came after that one. Where she got thrown to the sidelines like a bone for the dog because of that pitiful excuse for a crush, Red. Those were some of the loneliest days she could recall. Of course to admit to it was a compromise and Veronica was not about to swallow her pride to explain how hurt her feelings were.  
  
She was a Di'Angelo after all and a Di'Angelo would rather cut off a limb to protect their pride and reputation before they EVER let someone know how much they’d been hurt by them. Her mother embedded it into her head over the years that people would kick her if she were down and her father did much the same. Mr. Di'Angelo liked to think people were out to get them and as a result, Veronica thought the same thing.  
**________**

**_"Don't you dare let them see the egg on your face, Darling." Mrs, Di'angelo explained. "If you're weak its the first thing people notice, and if they notice they wont hesitate to knock you down a few more notches."_ **  
  
**_"There are those who will seek to ruin you, pumpkin, and you have to be strong to stand against the ire. Don't let anyone run you over." Her father would say. "Fight back, show them they can't control you because you're the one in control!"_ **

**________**

At the time, Veronica had been too young to truly understand what her mother and father were saying. It wasn’t until she joined pine hallow that she really understood those words. An older student named Ingrid Poltrov had taken advantage of her once and when Veronica put her foot down Ingrid locked her in a dark broom closet while everyone else went on the hike. She was there for hours then finally released by Ingrid who threatened to make her experience at Pine Hollow all the more horrible if Veronica ever opened her big mouth. It was like that for awhile, half the year had flown by before Veronica told her mother about the situation. The advice Mrs. Di'Angelo gave her still run through her like a hot knife.  
**________**

**_"Reputation is everything Veronica, especially in this family. This Ingrid Romanov or whoever has all but succeeded in running our family name through the muck! and you let her!"_ **  
  
**_"Mum its not like I wanted her to! I told her I wasn't going to stand for it, and she locked me up in the broom clos-"_ **  
  
**_"Remember what I told you about weaklings?"_ **  
  
**_"S-Sort of, but what does it matter now?"_ **  
  
**_"It matters a whole lot Veronica! Most people who see weakness see an opportunity. The weaker the man or women is the easier it will be to use them. And you made yourself an excellent example. If you're weak you have no pride or self respect. If you don't have that you're going bow down to anyone who threatens you."_ **  
  
**_"Ugh, you don't get it mum. She's 17 and I'm 10! What 17 year old would ever listen to me?"_ **  
  
**_"Well make it where she doesn't have to listen to you, ignore her. Go on about your day."_ **  
  
**_"She'll hurt me! What part of 'she locked me in the broom closet' don't you get?"_ **  
  
**_"Dear lord have some self respect Veronica! Toughen up! Did you let her break your backbone while you were there? I mean really. Get ready to be manipulated for_ **  
**_the rest of your life Veronica if you have that attitude!"_ **  
  
**_"But mum!"_ **  
  
**_"You're a smart girl Veronica and you know it, figure it out, you can do it. Threaten her with something, find what is weak in her and then strike! Be observant of the people around you, and you WILL find these qualities that make it easier for you to bowl over them rather than them mowing you down. YOU get THEM, before THEY get YOU."_ **

**__________**  
  
It had been so simple all along, just 7 words summed up what her mother had been trying to tell her. Get them before they get you. After that it didn't take long for Veronica to strike a hard blow to Ingrid by buying her horse and selling it off, spread rumors about her, mucked up her stall after she'd cleaned it and so on. She'd eventually chased her out of Pine Hollow and from that day forward Veronica was the queen bee. The other students who had fallen victim to Ingrid praised Veronica for what she did. The compliments flew left and right and they looked up to her. They respected her, they did everything she asked of them and life had been good, at least for awhile. But somewhere along the line she had turned into Ingrid mixed in with her own Di'angelo swagger.

  
If Pine Hollow had new students Veronica was quick to fly in under the guise of a girl who only wanted to help, but once she sunk her teeth into their necks she had them do things for her in return for a better Pine Hollow experience. It became easier each time. She just had to show the right amount of 'genuine friend' to get what she wanted. The respect the other students had for her ended the day two girls entered the ring in the fall. Veronica attempted the same strategy with them as she had with all the others. Stevie and Carole had joined Pine Hollow a year after she had and when she tried to take them under her wing it back fired. They listened to her in the beginning but she couldn’t remember when or where it had started to change.

They became defiant, they questioned her knowledge, her authority and to this day had never gotten them back for it. When Lisa came to Pine Hallow she was very quick to snatch her up when Stevie and Carol rejected her at first. Veronica saw her as a sucker but deep down she really just wanted another friend and Lisa seemed good enough to be that friend, but instead she got swept up by the childish, juvenile, mundane saddle club. Those girls thought they were SO special, so unique, so interesting because they had this special love for horses, that their love was the strongest love and that their way had been the right way. Everyone was so enamored with these three girls, but she had never seen the light. In reality they were a dime a dozen, the saddle club was nothing special and nothing new yet not one single soul saw through it like she did.

Soon enough someone with more passion and fire with a greater love for horses would stumbled into Pine Hollow some day and she would be ready to snatch them up, and and Kristi and this unnamed person could combat the utterly sophomoric ways of The Saddle Club. It filled her with such pride. The vision of her own club strutting through the stables as everyone basked in their glory, talked about how special, how mature, how well they complimented each other, all while the Saddle club stuck their heads in the sand where they belonged, lit her on fire. Veronica waited so long for this person to come but they never did. People came and went of course, and those who stayed were just not up to par with what she had envisioned. It was all too typical, and depressing, for she had become nothing more than a mere peddle to kick out of the path to make way for the Saddle club. She wasn’t important anymore, Veronica was just something painted in the backdrop at Pine Hollow for everyone to point and laugh at.

It had stained her heart so much that she hated them. She both hated and envied them. There had always been a significant amount of Veronica that actually admired them, wished that she was them, could be them but better, because her way the only way, the best way, and better than theirs. There were times she expressed this to Kristi and Veronica quickly found out just how much Kristi didn’t rightly care. The only time the girl did care was whenever Red had been involved, other than that Kristi couldn’t be bothered with it. She wondered why a lot. For all the times she had forced herself through the agony of hearing about everything Red related, why hadn’t Kristi done the same thing for her?

Veronica got angry, cold and ruthless to prove her points. But it didn’t matter, no one cared anymore, not Kristi, not her parents, not no one. The other students didn't respect her as they had, talking back to her, making fun of her behind her back, never took her words seriously. It was all because of the Saddle club! So she went right on and blamed Stevie, Carole and Lisa for ruining her. They were babies, the lot of them big blubbering bleeding hearts in her eyes. Carole, Stevie, Lisa, Kristi, the Pine hallow staff and students all wore their emotions on their sleeves.  
  
It was easy to find what made them tick, what made them weak and she went out of her way to pummel their pride into the ground every chance she got. A snide comment here, a demeaning jab there but Veronica could never dig the knife in deep enough for them to feel how much they hurt her. She'd been defeated, thwarted by the saddle club in less than a year. She never forgot and she never forgave. Veronica was relentless on those three girls, and singled them out more often than anyone else. But she was still the joke. Veronica's actions or ideas weren't nearly as sanctioned as those of the Saddle club. Those horse crazed Susie Q's were always constructing arbitrary plans to make things better in the most idiotic ways imaginable. The time they stole Prancer from whoever it had been to save her from certain death was a burning beacon of their logic and no one said or did anything about it.  
  
The Saddle club, if they did the wrong thing for the right reasons only got a halfhearted lecture and a pat on the bum from Max or Mrs. Reg before they were sent on their way. If she explained or conveyed the reality of a situation to them she was the cold, heartless rich girl who could have cared less about anything that didn't center around her. Everyone believed it and the Saddle club pushed it along even if it wasn't true. The thing she remembered most was crying a lot that year and crying alone. No one was home half the time, so she licked her wounds on her own, attempting to get over it but her contempt only festered as she fertilized it with her anger. Veronica learned that in her home it was easier to deal with something on her own. A broken heart could only be mended by her own will power. She'd grown sick of crying, tired of letting her emotions rule her and as a result Veronica bottled it up, locked whatever pain, small or large, inside her, and built a fortress so high and thick it could never be broke into by anyone.  
  
That is until Scooter rolled out of the woodworks.  
  
There was no warning. No alarm had been rung, no announcement of his coming had been made. He was just there one afternoon when she came in, installing computer wires in the office. The Irish, computer dweeb, boy'o wonder somehow achieved a conversation with her every time he felt the need to throw his opinion in her face. He'd also made quick friends with everyone at Pine Hollow which, of course, meant the saddle club. Scooter bopped his way to the top of her list of reasons to die, and it didn't take him long to do it either. Soon enough he bugged her more than anyone at Pine Hallow and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. Veronica thought it may have been his joking nature at first. Then she was sure it was his lecturing her or butting into an exchange he wasn't apart of, but that still wasn't it. There was always a new reason to despise him.  
  
He never left her alone and try as she might to get him off her back Scooter was an oak. Insulting him didn't work, it never warded him off. Ignoring him didn't work, she was too easy to get a rise out of. The shakes at JB's were too good to pass on and he worked there and at Pine hallow, so avoiding him, also, didn't work. She came to conclusion that it was simply just Scooter as a whole that bothered her and it could not be helped. What irked her the most was the obvious crush he had on her, or what seemed like a crush; There were times she couldn't tell. But either way Scooter wasn't the type of person she wanted pining after her. There were far more superior and suitable companions to pick from. The only problem that lied in that was at times Veronica would initiate the conversations between them, fanning the flames of his bizarre affections for her even further. If he displayed suspicious behavior Veronica swooped in, scolding him for anything imaginable. She'd accused him of stealing things that had mysteriously vanished over the course of time, yet no one had believed her. The excise was that he was too nice and there was no way Scooter would ever steal from them. That was the problem. Scooter, in fact, was a nice young man. Over time Veronica went out of her way to 'scold' him for anything.

He wasn’t hard to like she had to admit, everyone liked him, Kristi included, but being someone who so desperately didn’t want to be like everyone else refused to like him, in spite of what she truly felt. When he spoke with her, teasing or whatever way it had been, she couldn’t help but smile and turn pink. She thought of nothing more than how much it angered her. He would always proclaim how he ‘knew her’. Saw the ‘real her’ when no one else did. Where he had seen the ‘real her’ was a mystery. Sure she did nice things occasionally, but other than that she never allowed anyone to see ‘the real her’, because what was given in her own mind was 'the real her'.  
_____

_**"I don't know what it is about him but he really gets under my skin."** _

_**"Maybe you like him~" Kristi had teased.** _

_**"He's arrogant! Totally full of himself! And- he's- he's-"** _

_**"Cute!"** _

_**"Irish! That silly one sided grin… and the way his eyes sort of… crinkle up…” he was pretty handsome** _ _**“Its so unfinished!" She lied.** _

_**"Yeah…"**_  
_____

So he was attractive, but he was still dirt poor and Veronica would never settle for someone like him. Being attracted to him was just one thing. Veronica could easily keep that information to herself with Kristi maybe being the only other soul to know it. Scooter wasn't worth the aggravation or the anxiety it'd bring if she gave him the time of day. If he was an oak then she'd be an oak too. But when that blasted Dance thrown by Pine Hollow happened she began to feel an unnerved change in opinion regarding Scooter sweep over her, while at the same time somehow held on to the same one she'd always had of him.

Kristi once again had her sights honed and locked on Red. Thankfully Veronica had been in a good mood during that time so the Kristi/Red bonanza wasn't nearly as irritating as it would have been. Veronica wanted to help Kristi again. She suggested that in order for Kristi to succeed in her schemes to snag him, she'd have to make Red jealous and later created a fake suitor for Kristi to do just that. The idea spawned while they were both at JB's discussing the matter over a couple of malts. Veronica explained that if Red got jealous enough over another guy -who didn't exist- he'd see it as competition and ask Kristi before the "other guy" asked her first.

Kristi only needed to know what buttons to push when it came to the male mind. Veronica, being an expert at pushing buttons, was sure the plan would work. Scooter had been behind the counter, listening in on her little plan and immediately threw in his own two cents after she'd finished. He told her that what she said was rubbish and deep down both guys and girls were the same under the skin. She laughed it off. Scooter didn't have a girlfriend so what did he know? Veronica told him this, but he made sure to let her know he didn't care what she thought. Scooter snorted at the weak attempt to wound his ego. She'd turned red, that awful feeling of heat in her gut burst and flooded her entire body. He always made her out to be a joke! Just like all the rest! There were times when he was far worse than the Saddle club. It had been the wrong time, but he had suddenly asked her if she wanted to go with him. Now had been the chance to rip it in two. Veronica tore the offer apart and told him to go work in a library.

That whole time she'd unknowingly put her foot in her mouth until the very end. Kristi got her wish and danced with Red, the Saddle club was there acting sentimental per usual, Scooter showed up having not only a date, but TWO dates instead of none and she ended up with jack squat. And wouldn't you it those two girls Scooter scooped up worked at the Library. He made sure to wet that fact with the utmost satisfaction he could have conjured. All the emotion she felt intertwined together into one huge ball that clawed its ways to the center of her throat. Veronica's stomach twisted into a knot fueled with many emotions gathering together in one spot, but out of all of them jealousy was the strongest.She had a lot to be jealous for Veronica supposed, but couldn't pin point what she envied the most. Everyone had a date and she didn't? Scooter having two dates and she had none? Or Scooter having two dates and neither of them were her? That thought shook her to the core.

The very next day she had been in a foul mood. Nothing was right anymore, nothing was secure, not even her own emotions which she was personally in charge of. If Scooter hadn't of come along to challenge her every word like everyone else then maybe she'd at least have that under control, but she didn't. Veronica had found him hiding out in the lounge with that stupid game of his. The sight of him added to the outrage inside her and how horrible of day it had already been. If he was at the stables why wasn't anything done? Garnet's stall had still not been cleaned yet and there he was, sitting on his bum doing nothing.  
  
**___________**

**_"Is Garnet's stall clean yet?" She'd demanded._ **

**_"Search me." He'd replied, rolling his eyes._ **

**_"Well did YOU clean it?"_ **

**_"Did ya want me to clean it?"_ **

**_"I shouldn't have to ask!"_ **

**_"I'll do it if ya want me to."_ **

**_"It should be done automatically!"_ **

**_"Automatically? Oh uh… No … I - I don't think I've got a switch for tha. I'm just your no-frills manual model."She rolled her eyes, always the one to joke. "Every thing's just a joke to you, isn't it Scooter?" he was quiet at first, with his eyes focused on the wall as he thought._ **

**_"I've done my share of cry'n,” He said. “but its laugh'n I prefer."_ **

**_"Crying? What have you got the cry about?" The notion was hilarious. Scooter? crying? As if. He smiled at her then, shifty eyed and suspicious. "…Are you try'n to make friends with me, Veronica?" he'd asked._ **

**_As if, she’d never. "I'd have to be pretty desperate to do that." Very desperate indeed._ **

**_"Not desperate… Lonely maybe." Curse him!_ **

**_"I'd say you're the lonely one Scooter."_ **

**_"And Why do'ya think tha?"_ **

**_"Because you're always so eager to talk to me!"_ **

**_"Tha's because I like Ya." The buzz in her bones was in the same category of being struck by a bolt of isolated lightening, he'd shocked her! Shocked her right into silence and a red face. He grinned at her silence._ **

**_"… Stop it…"_ **

**_"I can't do that." Was what he said, a kind light flickered behind his eyes and he leaned forward. "You see, liking you is automatic. I've got no off switch for it." To finish it off he placed his hand over his heart, giving it a little pat. This was a joke, he had to be lying, it was nothing but a big fat lie on his part and Veronica above all else, hated a liar. Her chest heaved in and out, she got red in the face, she felt the tingle of a burn in her ear. Was she angry? Embarrassed? Glad? Mad? Perhaps both, or maybe all? she couldn’t tell anymore. He didn't waver though and when she said nothing he grinned all the wider._ **

**_There was something sour about that grin to her. Something that hurt more than she would have ever expected it to and she didn’t understand why."… Like I said… everything is just a joke to you."_ **

**_"Who's joking?"_ **

**_What else was there to say? She's turned her back on him and just about broke the handle off the door trying escape. If he liked her so much then why did he end up going with those two twin girls to the dance? If he’d just asked…oh… He had asked and she shot him down. Lord was she sick of putting her foot in her mouth all the time! Why oh why couldn’t she be right for once!?_ **  
**________ **

It became increasingly harder to backtalk Scooter after that. He'd get her flustered into silence and won whatever argument he threw himself into with her. If he wasn't around Veronica was stumped in her head because she could think of nothing else but him! He liked her? How could he like her? Liked her in what way? Well what other way could it be? She'd thought. It shouldn't have been this hard or confusing to convince herself otherwise. She shouldn't have even been trying to convince herself at all. It was a hand's down, not gonna happen scenario. In spite of all of that she couldn't help but like him. Scooter over time had become funny, witty and smart rather than the opposite. It had grown on her. He had grown on her. What she wanted so desperately to be annoying again was now charming to her.

Another time when Veronica was at JB's, a debate got fired up between them both. She was putting Red down again to Kristi's face, and told her that these feelings were only hormones. Kristi had better options available to her and who came from wealthy families, families that went way back with their own. Kristi got upset and left but Scooter, who as always, was listening and jumped right in. Without fear he defended Red on Kristi's behalf. She rolled her eyes the second something dripped from his mouth. Veronica knew Kristi better than anyone at Pine Hollow, her habit's included so, again, what did he know. Veronica with a cold tongue told him that the notion of love was nice but families like her's and Kristi's had a responsibility, and when he asked her to who, she explained it was to their families, their reputations and their children to come.

Scooter said he'd rather his children know their parents married for love. She told him she'd like to think so romantically but life in the upper echelons was more realistic than what he was getting at. For all that Scooter scoffed at her words. "You need to loosen up, is my guess. Let the wind and life carry ya for while. Ya might like it." He smirked, shook his head and strolled away leaving her silent and red. To hide it, she rolled her eyes, grabbed a seat at a booth and simmered.  
  
It was uncanny. The last time she spoke to him Veronica had to talk about her family's wealth. Now the "upper echelons" of society had begun to crumbled under her feet. Veronica's family began to go through a financial crisis after some bad investments had been made. They didn't even have enough money to pay for Garnet's board at Pine Hollow, leaving her to pick up the slack and work at the stables to keep Garnet there. At JB's once again, Veronica mauled over it in her head quietly in the corner of the cafe. Scooter of course found her and immediately took on concern once he saw her saddened gaze. When he asked what was bothering her, she told him it was the end and it was all over for her.  
_**______**_

_**"Are you okay Veronica?"** _

_**"…"** _

_**"You upset about something, or-?"** _

_**"What?" She hadn’t heard him really, it was just a buzz in her ear until it finally dawned her that someone was speaking to her.** _

_**"Has something bad happened?" It was Scooter, of course.** _

_**"Oh its worse than bad. Its the end."** _

_**"Can I ask what it is?" he was legitimately worried, his tone and attitude all tense, acting as though someone had been killed or died.** _

_**"Oh… you'll find out anyways. The Di'angelo's are near enough to broke." She puffed. He laughed instantly. "Oh! It's only money." He'd said in a dismissive manor then slipped into the booth next to her. Of course he'd never take it seriously. He worked as a waiter on a minimum waged salary. He had no idea what it was like to have so much money, to have your future set in stone and now that stone was slowly turning into sand.** _

_**"It's A LOT of money!" She tried to explain.** _

_**"What I mean is, nobodies been hurt or killed, so it doesn't really matter."** _

_**"Only somebody who's never had money would say that."** _

_**"Well, Money's good and all, don't get me wrong. But its who ya are that matters. Not what ya've got."** _

_**"But that's EXACTLY what makes me who I am. Without money, I-I'd be like everybody else… I'd be ordinary… Like the saddle club! Ugh!"** _

_**"I'd still like'ya. Rich or poor." Who cared? There was an old saying that applied to this. Argue with idiots long enough you’ll become one, and in this case if she kept arguing with him over being poor she’d be broke before sundown.** _

_**"You might, Scooter, but the people who matter wouldn't." She said and he let out a sigh, and it wasn’t the usual one she’d grown accustom to. Maybe she’d finally gotten under his skin judging from his change in tone. "And who are these "people" that matter, exactly?" Veronica didn’t know if she was happy with it or not, but he acted as though he had been put down.** _

_**"The people with money!" Wasn’t it obvious!?** _

_**"Oh. And they'll turn their backs cuz ya' haven't got it?" Yes, finally he got it! They were making progress it seemed.** _

_**"Well they'd have too! Because then I wouldn't be one of them."** _

_**"Hmm. See, yer not talk'n about people who "matter". Yer talk'n about morons. Its not what you've got in yer pocket that matters. Its what you got in here." He thumped at his head while he spoke. "And I'll tell ya another thing. That drink is on the house.” Scooter nodded at it. “Sure, if your friends found out you had no money, they might run ya over on the street."** _

_**_____** _

He had stormed off and left her there to sit and go over what he said. Great… Now she felt bad. Why did he always do that? Why did he have to make her feel so guilty about her feelings? What made it worse was that he was right. When she'd actually taken the time to step outside of her shoes and into his, she really did act more spoiled than she thought. If Scooter thought she had taken the money issue hard, then he should have seen her mother. Mrs Di'Angelo had the whole house writhing under the weight of her bad mood, it was like trying to breath in smoke half the time. Her father and mother were at odds, mostly arguing at night when they thought she couldn't hear them. What her sleep mattered anyways. Veronica couldn't sleep anyhow knowing her family money was close to being gone.

A big fat brick settled in the pit of her stomach, cutting at the entrails of her belly. Her mind filled with negative thoughts that added to the sleepless nights. What would happen if they did loose all their money? Where would they go? What would they do? How would they go about doing it? She always jumped to the worst conclusion but it was hard not to. Maybe a little less money wouldn't hurt but the way her parents, primarily her mother, were going on about it made it so much worse. Mr. Di’Angelo was speaking more and more about how important family was, and that they had to stick together but her mother would not have it. If Scooter knew the situation to its fullest extent, then maybe he wouldn’t have been so mad at her, but he didn’t, he was right regardless, but still did he have to say that to her?

The reality, which she could not except, had more to do with her parents than it did with her friends. Veronica loved her family and to see her father so put out by this and her mother acting like it was truly the end scared her to death. If Scooter had been there with her now, seeing what it was really doing to her, he'd know exactly what to say to make her feel better. Because at the end of the day he really seemed to care. He was right about her friends, though. Completely right. There was no underlying issue or more to the story other than how shallow and flaky they were. If they turned their backs on her now they weren't really friends at all.  
  
**_"I'd still like ya, rich or poor."_   **Those words circled in her head until they put her to sleep. He probably would be the one to stick by her side if she was broke. After all he had come to her when he thought something horrible had happened. He wasn't all that bad. No boy had ever told her he liked her before Scooter. So why him? Scooter, who by every right should have despised her, liked her and he wasn't afraid of saying it. One night when Kristi had been staying with Veronica while her parents were away she told Kristi what she'd been feeling. Well, least to say Kristi didn't find it surprising, but more so had been shocked by Veronica’s admittance. Scooter had no real money, but like Scooter, Red didn't make that much money either and she adored him with all her heart.

  
Kristi told Veronica she surly had a thing for Scooter and there wasn't anything wrong with it. It wasn't the first time Kristi told her so,but this time Veronica had a an-almost-new attitude regarding the notion. Scooter, whatever the issue, was there. If he thought she was out of line he'd put her in her place. If he saw her looking down, pensive or worried he'd see if she was okay, not just to wet his curiosity, but actually there to listen. People like Scooter were a rare breed these days, or at least they were in her world. It was a world where reputation was everything. A cut throat, survival of the richest elitist society. It was all Veronica knew. Everything had to fit together, go together, this went with that and that went with this. Clothes, make up, furniture, paint, landscaping, everything. People were no exception to this rule either. If it couldn't fit then there was no place for it at all. Scooter did not fit with her but she liked him still. He had made her feel better when no one else could.

Around the time Pine Hollow had its near financial collapse Veronica was not as ready to except it. First her own family and now the Stables, things had gotten really bad and there wasn’t a thing anyone could do about it. Veronica was a lot less dramatic about it than everyone else, and tried to look at like an adult would have. Change could happen to the best of people, to the best of places, her family was a shining example of that. No one on God's green earth liked change, and to look at change as a good thing wasn't easy, nor was it easy to convey, but Veronica didn't want to sit and sulk when there was nothing she could possibly do. She'd saved Pine Hollow before when her father invested in it only to pull out right after when their own money started to vanish. The stables were as good as dead. That day she had found Kristi crying in the lounge, undoubtedly for the loss of Red, it was nothing more than that. She said to Kristi that she had gotten too close to Red, that maybe it was time for a change and it would be for the better. Red was so below her, and she'd let her standards slip badly. This angered Kristi.

_**_________________** _  
  
_**"You're going to wind up a very lonely old woman!" She snapped.** _

_**"I don't think so." Veronica replied** _

_**"Don't bet on it… Somebody nice will come along and you wont even notice! Because you've got you 'standards'."**_  
_**__________________**_  
  
Kristi was so dramatic, she had always been that way but it did shut Veronica up. Would she end up lonely? Not alone but lonely, married to a man who suited the standards she always went on about, but it would have only suited those standards, not her as a person. The first thing that came to mind was Scooter. The thought of Scooter staying or leaving after Pine hollow shut down got her worried. Where would he go after that? He could always continue to work at JB’s, but with everyone about to move on he might not want to stay. After all Pine Hollow was JB’s main source of in come, so when that well ran dry JB’s could have shut down, too. Veronica sought him at work where she asked if he was going to stick around after the stables closed. He wasn't sure at the time and mentioned going back to Ireland to see his family. She felt a pang of sadness run cold through her when he said that. She asked him about his family to keep him talking.

Apparently he had a brother and sister, and two parents "Of either sex" He had put it. Veronica asked what his father did and Scooter told her that he didn't work. The more she listened the more she felt horrible for him. His father was on welfare, his mother was a "Weeder" and worked at a huge manor from a picture he'd shown her of his mom and dad. The both of them were wearing gardening garb, knelt down by a fountain in a green yard under the shadow of a huge castle. Through all of that though Scooter was happy. He was a carefree young man who worked as a waiter to pay his way in this world and people liked him and he liked himself with or without money. Sometimes she didn't like herself, and Veronica was rich!

  
She really didn't want to see him go but it wasn't like she could stop him either way. This was reality and she would have to face sooner or later. So she told him that the students would miss him when he left, and miss him a lot, but she would miss him most of all. Veronica never said that last bit but Scooter saw right through it and asked if she'd go on a picnic with him. Delighted, she accepted and on a picnic they went. The two sat in awkward silence at first. Scooter wasn't nearly as talkative as he usually was. Veronica never expected to be in this situation even when she wanted to be. Now that she was, Veronica didn't know what to say and she supposed he must have felt the same way. Scooter kept smiling at her, chuckling, giggling, and for the life of her could not stop blushing because of it. He kept staring at her, and right in the eye too. A lot of people had a hard time making eye contact in awkward situations, but not Scooter. He looked her dead in the eye without fear and all she could do was focus on other things around them. Ordinarily Veronica would have demanded to know why Scooter was staring at her, or tell him to shove off but this time, in a kinder way, she asked him why he was smiling.

**__________**  
  
**“I can’t believe you came out with me.” He said.**

**"Yeah… I'm a bit shocked my self." She told him.**

**"We have such… different outlooks."**

**"Yeah… money's not important to you, is it?"**

**"Bah, love over gold."**

**"What does that mean?"**

**"Like my mother says, Love is better than money. Love over gold Veronica, its gotta be, don't ya think?"**

**"I-I dunno…"**

**The next part of that conversation somehow led him to asking if she wanted to take a swim in the river they were camped next to. He always had to joke about something but when she said no he yanked her up from the ground and began to drag her. Veronica begged and stomped and tried to dig her toes into the ground while he laughed. She struggled against his vice grip but failed when he had let go by mistake, gravity’s pull casting him into the water and she fell right in after him. When Veronica resurfaced from the water she saw his goofy smile and mischievous sparkling eyes, laughing under his breath. He'd done wrong and he knew that from behind the smile. He must have been waiting on his punishment for what he had done but Veronica couldn't seem to find it within herself to really think of what to do.**

  
**"You are. So. stupid.” She said through chattering teeth. Scooter giggle then. "There's no help for it. Tha's the way I was born." She wanted to pound him, knock his teeth down his throat to show him just how mad she was for what he had done to her, but Scooter knew and didn’t care. He wasn’t afraid of her. His crooked grin would be her end and even if she wanted to beat the life from him Veronica couldn’t help but reflect the smile he had on his face.**

  
**It was now or never. She wanted it, even if she was soaked through to the bone and this wasn’t what she pictured her fist kissing being like. This was her chance to really experience something that happened organically, rather than all the prepackaged boys who had been at her disposal "… well… Kiss me stupid!"**  
**He froze up, the smile went away and his eyes lost that spark inside them. "No…” he said coolie. “I wont kiss ya stupid… but I will kiss ya."**  
**__________**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter one**  
**The wind changed course**

 

  
Scooter’s smile returned, this time bigger than ever and it swept across his face when he moved in for the kill. He took hold of the back of her neck and her shoulder, leaned in and kissed her. A gentle, thoughtful kiss was laid upon her quivering cold lips. She shook from head to toe and dug her feet into the river bed to gain back the control she once had. The current was slow but Veronica's knees quaked against what felt like a powerful torrent. His touch was still a little foreign on her skin. But they were both unsure in the beginning. He didn't dare get an inch closer to her body that whole time, he kept his hands where he had put them from the start. His kiss was still tentative, slow and sweet. This thoughtfulness gave her the courage to kiss him back. She trembled and shut her eyes tight, and let the joy of this moment capture her. Veronica was happy, truly happy and it was a happy that hadn’t shown itself to her for a long time. She was as silly as a school girl around her crush. Her body rippled with shivers from being cold and being excited.

And just like that the kiss was over, they pulled apart with Scooter's hand's still clamped to her shoulder and neck before he removed them and took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs in circles along her wrists and gave them a gentle squeeze. He smiled at her, fixed his gaze on her once cold, condescending eyes that had melted into shy, delicate ones. He must have been waiting on her to speak but she didn't say a word. He brought Veronica's hands to his mouth and ran his lips over the tops of her knuckles, kissing the patches of cold skin. Scooter cupped his hands around hers, rested his chin atop the kissed knuckles and waited. She still said nothing, just smiled at him. Scooter scoffed, furrowed his brow and looked in every which direction.  
  
"Veronica… I Did'n really kiss ya stupid did I?"   
  
"What? No, no. I'm just thinking." If he unscrewed the top of Veronica's head and looked inside he wasn't going to find much. She had drawn a blank. Veronica looked at him to find that the crinkled eyes she loved so much smoothed themselves out. His crooked grin hung there until pressed into a fine line and her dropped his gaze.  
  
"About wha exactly?"  
  
"I'ya- I'm not really sure."  
  
"Are ya upset?"  
  
"No I'm not. I'm- well- I don't know what to say…"  
  
"I was tha bad huh?" He let her hands go and squeezed his back into his soggy pockets. Veronica jumped and retrieved those hands, fusing them together the way they had been. She held his hands in a iron clad grip and squeezed until she was sure he knew he didn't do anything wrong. She wasn't upset about the river water and he had made her feel those fireworks a girl should have felt after being kissed. Aside from him pulling her Gung ho into the water, Scooter had been the perfect gentleman.  
  
"No! That's not it… I - this was my first kiss. I didn't think It'd be like." She explained. “And… I didn’t think it would be with you.” The light in his eyes rekindle its blaze, he perked his head right back up and his cheeky grin returned. It stretched as far as it could go, from one ear to the other. He took hold of Veronica, pulled her close to him and pushed back the strands of damp hair stuck to her face.  
  
"Oh really now? so I stole yer first kiss did I?"  
  
"Don’t sound so proud." She scoffed. Of course he'd feel proud of himself, it wouldn't be Scooter if he wasn't arrogant towards it.  
  
"Ya could say Im’a touch proud of me'self. Didn' think ya'd end up gettin' yer first kiss from a fella like me, aye?" He winked. "Not in my wildest dreams." She said.  
  
"It's not what I expected but its- its good like that. I'm happy."

"Well then, I'd be right happy to have a second one, if ya don't mind." Scooter smiled, and let her hand's drop. He grabbed her cheeks, pulled her forward and kissed her again. For the next few hours it was the two of them laying on the picnic blanket under the warmth of an early summer sun. It was the sun that came right before Holiday and everything was a picturesque drawing hanging on the wall in a museum. Lush, green fields full of wildflowers under clear blue skies and tepid, tame gusts of wind flowed down from the rolling hills into the valley. The breeze caught the ends of her loose hair and the smell of pasture grain and countryside flowers ran under her nose. She forgot about the money, forgot about the differences in class and her ‘reputation’ as a Di'angelo. It was Scooter and Veronica side by side beneath a boundless blue sky and not one thing mattered. Veronica had her head nestled against the palm of his hand while he massaged her temple, a finger playing with the thin part of her ear. He hadn't stopped smiling since they kissed and quite frankly she hadn't either, hers wasn't nearly as large or outgoing as his though, resting more on the softer, timid side of the spectrum.

  
"Sweet and shy she as goes where the rest of her has gone nobody knows." Scooter sang with a chuckle, moving in a tad closer to her.

"What?" She laughed.

"Yer'so quiet, Veronica." Scooter gave a tug at the strand of her hair tangled in his fingers.

"I am?"

 "Yeah, ya'are. Sweet and shy she as goes where the rest of her has gone nobody knows. Somfin me'mum used to say to me'sister when she got into one of her moods." Veronica scoffed and shook her head. "I'm not in a mood-wha-What is so wrong with being quiet?"

"Well nothin', not usually, is'jus YOU, usually have somefin to say. Are ya okay?" He asked. Veronica nodded her head and moved closer to him. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm very happy."

"Were ya not happy before?" There he went again, trying to pry into her psyche if she was even the slightest bit off to him. Veronica bit her lip, tugging the flesh into her mouth. If she had been unhappy before today it was easy to say yes, she was unhappy, because there wasn't a lot to be happy about given the situation at home and at Pine Hollow. When everything was financially secure she had to think back further to see if she was happy even then. She looked that way in her head but a lot it was dressed up, wrapped in earthly items to create the illusion of happiness but under the surface it was only a mask. She had never actually stopped to think if she had ever been happy. But she was happy now.  
  
"Things aren't good at Pine Hollow right now so, yeah, I was unhappy before this."  
  
"Okay, okay, Just make'n sure. What use would I be if I let'me girlfriend be all sad." He said. Veronica lit up, turning over on her side and laid her head on his arm.  
  
"You really think of me as your girlfriend?" She asked.  
  
"Of course I do, how could I not? Yer a dream." He didn't budge, and it wasn't a joke because he hadn't cracked up yet.  
  
"Oh stop." She swatted him. “That’s silly.”  
  
"No I mean it, I really do Veronica. Ya just were too cute to pass up. Ya match yer eyes just at yer feet. Cute as a button." He gave her nose a little poke and his grin. It was corny, yes, but she liked it. He thought a great deal of her despite the fact she'd been ugly to him up until a few weeks ago. Now the wind had spun him into her good graces. Veronica was experiencing a lot of new things within the length of a few hours and the sun hadn't started to set. She didn't want it to but when it did they made the most of that time, walking back to Pine Hollow at a slow, even pace, hand in hand painted in the fading sun. It was near dark by the time they got back.  
  
Veronica pursed her lips into a thin line as the two stopped when the lights from the stables came into view. Scooter snatched up her free hand and gave either of her knuckles a kiss until he let them be her own again. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Scooted asked, hands shoved in his pockets while he kicked at the ground with the toe of his shoe. "Pft, that’s preposterous Scooter. You're my boyfriend, why wouldn't I see you tomorrow?" He laughed at it, “Okay then.” Scooter gave Veronica another kiss and hurried off back to JB's before it closed without him.

The next day was even better! It had its rough moments but she had done it again, and this time had done it the right way. Veronica had saved Pine Hollow and completely eradicated its debt and it was all thanks to the Bourbon Coat of arms, a rare stamp she had found on top of some junk the Saddle club had put it there. They were trying to scrounge up the money to fight off the banks. The stamp was was wroth more than her entire life. not only that… but after it had all ended she had gotten the biggest shock of her life. While she was standing at the front of a fan, she heard him come in.

“Veronica! I rung me’folks, they’d like to meet’ya.” He grinned. “They’ve invited us to Ireland for the Holidays.” He smiled. “Oh!” At first she almost jumped for the chance to meet his parents but knowing how broke he was, she hesitated. Veronica probably couldn’t even afford to fly coach and if she couldn’t afford that how could his family afford to fly both of them over. “But will there be enough room?”

“Well there’s fifty of’em.” He chuckled.

“What?”

He crept closer. “You saw how big our house was in the photo.”

“That’s YOUR house!?”

“Yeah, one of’em.” There it was, his cheeky grin, now she was really confused.

“Bu-but you said your father was unemployed.” Didn’t he? She could have sworn he told her that once.

“No…” he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “My father doesn’t have to work, he owns half of Dublin.”

“HALF of Dublin!?” This couldn’t be true, it couldn’t have been! But he was no liar, he had never lied to her before.

“Well its not a very big city.” He added, shrugging it off like it was no big deal.

She was flabbergasted, utterly flabbergasted and at loss for words. She couldn’t get her head on straight, the thoughts and questions that circulated inside kept her from actually asking one. All the while he smiled and giggled at her reaction, but finally she did get one to surface.

“Are you rich Scooter?”

“Now that I have you I am.” He had such a way with words, and it was the best way in her mind. He made her feel pretty special and wanted, and he truly liked her for her. She felt a little guilty suddenly. How could she have been so, so wrong about him? So judgmental and assuming of who he was, or what he was because when in reality he wasn’t what she thought. Despite how she treated him and his previous advances in the beginning Scooter got her. He understood her on a level she couldn’t quite reach for her own self, and had seen the good things in her even if she was primarily bad to him. She was bad to everyone really, just plumb rotten. “Scooter… I-why didn’t you tell me?” He kept smiling at her in her silence and said nothing. Scooter reached down and took up her hand and pulled her close, hugging her. He never told her why but she supposed she was okay with that.

____

  
That night Veronica laid in bed much more relaxed than she had in the past several weeks. The knot in her stomach had been replaced by unadulterated glee that kept her awake, and it was far better than being kept awake by heated anxiety. Her parents still fought, they were fighting right now, a cluster of shouts and pieces of conversation carried from the other room down the hall and into her ears. She could have cared less, it didn't matter because as far as she was concerned they weren't fighting at al;, but laughing like they used to. She kept the day at the for fronts of her mind, all of it surrounding Scooter. His sweet smile and notorious crinkled up eyes were her favorite thing to picture. It was hard to believe he was the same person she'd accused of stealing from her at the beginning of the year. How wrong she had been.  
  
The door then slammed from down the hallway, and the shouting ceased immediately just after it had grown to its peek. A slow, heavy set of footsteps moseyed from the room her parents were in towards her own. Veronica rolled on her side and away from the door, steadied her breath to make it out like she was sleeping when her doorknob started to giggle. She clamped her eyes shut when a thin, sheet of light poured into her room from the open crack of her door, seconds passed before the hinge creaked and the door was opened all the way. By the sound of the footsteps it was her father coming to see her for whatever reason. Veronica didn't want to talk to him but she probably was going to have to. The other side of her bed sank down when at the weight of father as took a seat. She kept up the charade for as long as possible until her father's breath cracked.  
  
Veronica looked over her shoulder where she saw him with his hand clamped over his face, his body rose and fell in a shudder he tried to control, but couldn't, fragile snivels came from him and Veronica bolted upwards when she realized he was crying. "Daddy?" He took in a sharp breath, cleared his throat and took hold of her hand. Mr. Di'angelo gave it a firm squeeze but sat in silence. "Daddy what's wrong?" She asked. "What happened?" He still didn't answer. "This is scaring me! Why aren't you talking?" Veronica shouted. Her father lifted his head and a pair of wet, saddened eyes came into view as it caught the light from the hallway. Had her mother really upset him this much to the point where he was crying? Usually it was the other way around but her mother never hesitated to tell her why she was crying. MR Di'Angelo stared at nothing opening and closing his mouth while he tried to talk. "I'm- I'm sorry sweet pea. You know the old fellow wouldn't try to scare you intentionally." He had a good hold on her hand and it only tightened the longer he held it."Then why are you crying?"  
  
Mr Di'Angelo fell back into the silence he started out in and for awhile he didn't say one word as he sat on her bed looking like someone had died. Had someone died? It could have been her grandma Opal, whom Veronica wasn't that found of for lot's of reasons and it wasn't merely pinched cheeks or ugly Christmas sweaters. If she had been lucky Veronica would have been given those as gifts rather than the ones she did give her, which was nothing. Grandma Opal didn't rightly like any of her grandchildren, or her own children for that matter, putting them down in that gravel packed, scratchy voice of hers. She was a paper thin, long and white in the face old bat who smelled like a hospice unit in the old folks home they put in her years ago, thinking she was close to death but had long exceeded her exportation date. Hopefully she had died.

  
"I saw your smile when you walked through to door this evening.” He said. “I haven't seen that look in quite some time… I don't know what made you so happy but I sure wish I'd been the one to make your eyes light up again." He said suddenly, hanging his head. Veronica let loose a frustrated sigh. First Scooter and now her dad? "I didn't think I looked so sad all the time." She said, her pinched face souring by the minuet. "Why are men so obsessed with whether a woman smiles or not? Maybe some people don't constantly need to smile their entire lives." It was one thing to be stoic but Veronica did have a certain rest in her face that warranted people to question whether or not she was mad at something. But sad? Her father laughed and let her hand go, gave her a pat on the shoulder and folded his leg over the other. "Its what parents do, we know our kids," He chuckled. "When they're sad, mad or glad. we just know."  
  
"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you so upset, daddy?" Her chest heaved in and out when he still didn't answer and Veronica wiggled her hand free from the comforter and slammed it against her lap. "Tell me! Is it the money! Have we lost more!? Is that why you and Mommy are fighting!?” Mr. Di'Angelo shook his head, sucked back a breath and let it out. "I hate to know you hear our fighting, seems these days that's all your mother and I do. But families…" he trailed off, still shaking his head as he searched for the right words to continue. "Families can go through rough patches and they can be hard to live with because of that… I'd say the Di'Angelo's have hit a pretty rough patch of road pumpkin, but nothing is ever certain and this-" He pointed a finger towards the open door. "Will sort itself out soon enough"

  
"But when?" Veronica asked, a desperate, sadness welded in her eyes while she thumped her palm against her leg. "It just-it - this feels like the end, daddy. This is a nightmare." He grabbed her hand again, turned his body and faced her head on. Mr. Di’Angelo took her chin with a finger to lift her gaze. "Oh yes, yes. Surly a nightmare, surly. And nightmares can go on for some time with no let up. They can come in without warning and possess the mighty ire of a hurricane ripping into the land as if God himself sent it. It can destroy everything in its path without consciousness, no feeling, no sense of morality. For awhile the damage will be paralyzing. You will stand surrounded by the carnage feeling smaller than you ever have in your life. 'What on earth am I going to do now?' is what you're going to think I can guarantee it." He wagged a finger at her. Veronica whipped the tears from her eyes, sporting a frown that was sure to cause early smile lines. It was bad and she new it, she just knew it. With how her dad was talking they were all but turning the corners of roads right to the poor house. "That settles it then, it's officially over for us."    
  
"I know its hard right now and I know its harder when your mother and I are fighting. But one day you'll wake up and the nightmare will be gone, never to be seen again. You can rebuild from the rubble, find beauty in chaos. Try not to focus on what you don't have and focus on what you do." Veronica leered at her father, deep creases formed on her forehead in the time he'd spoken, slackjaw'd and frozen in the face. She wondered if he been possessed by Scooter. To her he sounded enough like him that it crossed into the realm of believability. He'd never talked this way before. He'd mentioned being a stronger family because of the money issue but nothing like this.

  
"Daddy- I-I don't understand, What about our responsibility as Di'Angelo's? All of that is going into toilet. How can I focus on what I have when I'm about to loose it all? I'd rather die than be poor, I'd rather die!" Her father dragged a hand down his face, each word that launched from her he replied with a sigh. Veronica understood him and knew he was right but as the saying goes an old habit dies hard. Veronica no matter how she painted the picture it was still a disaster. "There goes my life, my friends, our house. We'll be living like ordinary people!"  
  
"I really messed up with you…" He whimpered. It cut her off. His words struck her cold, they ran right through her like a hallow breath of wind. "Don't ever say that again, Veronica, not ever. You're too young to be talking like that. I understand its my fault for what you've become, but I still have some time left to fix my error… What I'm trying to tell you is-is that, um-it is going to be okay, you will make it through this. I won't be around forever to help guide you but for now I'm going to try. Please take this into considerati-"  
  
"But daddy-"  
  
"Please!" He snapped. "Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants. Do you know who said that?"  
  
"Benjamin Franklin…?"  
  
"Yes, good, very good… smart girl… and It's true. Money isn’t everything Veronica. It can make you happy temporarily but you'll always want more as a consequence, more things you don't need to fill a void in your heart. Money has no soul Veronica… Underneath this-this," He motioned to her body. "Exterior of yours lies a heart beat, I know you are not heartless… You're too young to be so jaded. You’re the most stubborn child I know, but you wouldn’t be a Di’Angelo if you weren’t.” The old man puffed out a laugh. "You are a Di'Angelo, very much so… and a Di'Angelo never stays down for long, remember that. I will love you no matter what." She wondered what that meant. Whatever it meant she wouldn’t know, because Mr. Di'Angelo retreated back into silence and she did the very same. With nothing left to say he got up, gave her a kiss on the forehead then shut the door behind him once he left. The sound of it sank deep into her heart.   
  
There were no good dreams in line for her tonight. Instead, she dreamed of an angry, blackened sky that engulfed every last bit of sunshine and blue. A large monster of a super cell settled in the west just beyond the threshold of a wooden fence lining the pasture. Dry lightening cracked across the sky, ferocious wind raced against the grass and mowed over the trees as it hurried her way. Veronica stood at the start of that green pasture clothed in a white sun dress snapping against the wind's fury. A deafening clap of thunder sounded the alarm and a thick sheet of rain plummeted towards the earth and hammered against the grain. Veronica was cocked and ready to dart in the other direction, but like most bad dreams you were running through invisible water or you couldn't run at all, and she couldn't run. 


End file.
